VERGE

verge

(noun) a grass border along a road

verge, brink

(noun) the limit beyond which something happens or changes; “on the verge of tears”; “on the brink of bankruptcy”

scepter, sceptre, verge, wand

(noun) a ceremonial or emblematic staff

brink, threshold, verge

(noun) a region marking a boundary

verge

(verb) border on; come close to; “His behavior verges on the criminal”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

verge (plural verges)

A rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.

(UK, historical) The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, by holding it in the hand and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge.

An edge or border.

(UK, Australia, New Zealand) The grassy area between the footpath and the street; a tree lawn.

(figuratively) An extreme limit beyond which something specific will happen.

(obsolete) The phallus.

(zoology) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc.

An old measure of land: a virgate or yardland.

A circumference; a circle; a ring.

(architecture) The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.

(architecture) The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof.

(horology) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement.

Synonyms

• (strip of land between street and sidewalk): see list at tree lawn

Etymology 2

Verb

verge (third-person singular simple present verges, present participle verging, simple past and past participle verged)

(intransitive) To be or come very close; to border; to approach.

To bend or incline; to tend downward; to slope.

Proper noun

Verge (plural Verges)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Verge is the 30101st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 779 individuals. Verge is most common among White (63.93%) and Black/African American (27.73%) individuals.

Source: Wiktionary


Verge, n. Etym: [F. verge, L. virga; perhaps akin to E. wisp.]

1. A rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority; as, the verge, carried before a dean.

2. The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, they holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge. [Eng.]

3. (Eng. Law)

Definition: The compass of the court of Marshalsea and the Palace court, within which the lord steward and the marshal of the king's household had special jurisdiction; -- so called from the verge, or staff, which the marshal bore.

4. A virgate; a yardland. [Obs.]

5. A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent. Even though we go to the extreme verge of possibility to invent a supposition favorable to it, the theory . . . implies an absurdity. J. S. Mill. But on the horizon's verge descried, Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail. M. Arnold.

6. A circumference; a circle; a ring. The inclusive verge Of golden metal that must round my brow. Shak.

7. (Arch.) (a) The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft. Oxf. Gloss. (b) The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof. Encyc. Brit.

8. (Horol.)

Definition: The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under Escapement.

9. (Hort.) (a) The edge or outside of a bed or border. (b) A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre.

10. The penis.

11. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.

Syn.

– Border; edge; rim; brim; margin; brink.

Verge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Verged; p. pr. & vb. n. Verging.] Etym: [L. vergere to bend, turn, incline; cf. Skr. v to turn.]

1. To border upon; to tend; to incline; to come near; to approach.

2. To tend downward; to bend; to slope; as, a hill verges to the north. Our soul, from original instinct, vergeth towards him as its center. Barrow. I find myself verging to that period of life which is to be labor and sorrow. Swift.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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